Smoozeling
Smoozelings (aka: Jelly Monsters, Living Slimeballs) are living blobs of amorphous goop that seem to exist only to eat and multiply. These unusual beings can be found living in thick forests, caves, sewers, and other damp, dark areas all across the Known World. Appearance One of the most unusual monsters known to exist, a Smoozeling appears to be a living, viscous mass of amorphous sludge. Most Smoozelings are deep violet in color, but other color varieties (which include blue, green, and even yellow) have been reported on rare occasions. The average smoozeling is less than half the size of an adult pony. However, there are several unverified stories of semi-transparent smoozelings living in subterranean corridors that have somehow managed to grow large enough to complety fill a hallway wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor and completly envelope unwarry adventurers. Though these creatures lack any kind of true anatomical features, one of the more interesting (or, as some would say, disturbing) traits of the Smoozelings is their ability to form temporary pseudo-facial details during feeding, which include simple eye-like organs and a jawless mouth-like opening. However, these unusual organs "dissolve" into the creatures' "flesh" as soon as they've served their function. Behavior Smoozelings feed on just about anything and everything that they can catch (both plant- and animal-based) and are able to digest all but the toughest of organic substances (such as bone, wood, and cloth). Smoozelings feed by smoothering (and, if necessary, suffocating) their food with their gelatinous bodies and then enveloping the food into their bodies. A smoozeling's goo can easily be shaked off by most creatures, so smoozelings prefer to go after animals much smaller and weaker than themselves, though they have been known to attack larger creatures (such as cervids and equines) when they feel threatened. As smoozelings feed, they convert the biomass of their prey directy into the slime that makes up their bodies. Once a smoozeling has eaten enough food and grown large enough, they will "reproduce" by spliting into two or more smaller smoozelings. Combating and Weaknesses Most physical blows are ineffective against a creature lacking in solid anatomical structures, though if a smoozeling's body is divided into small enough pieces, they will die. The process of complete digestion takes a few minutes, so if a smoozeling tries to envelop a creature that is still capable of fighting back, the "prey" will be able to burst from the smoozeling from the inside and spread its "body" all over the surrounding area, potentially killing the gelatinous creature. Smoozelings are also incredibly vunerable to fire and ice-based elemental magic. Common salt has also proven to be an effective weapon against smoozelings, and large bodies of fast-moving water (ie: being tossed into a river) have been known to completely dissolve the creature's essence. Popular Lore According to ancient legends, an unstoppable all-consuming force called the Smooze (or the S'muz) was released upon the world by an evil witch named Hydia. Very little is known exactly about what the Smooze was or what it did, though one of the more popular interpretations claim it was some manner of corrupting parasite and it resulted in the extinction of the now-lost Eutheri race. In the end, the Smooze was stopped and permantly neutralized by the power of the Megan. For some reason, the Smooze was not or could not be completely destroyed by the Megan. Instead, the powerful and dangerous force was converted into the relatively weak and harmless Smoozelings. Trivia *For unknown reasons, Smoozelings will occasionally emit a strange, moan-like call. When recordings of these calls are signifigantly sped up, they almost sound like the Smoozeling is saying Ancient Equestrian phrases that roughly translate to "you can't stop me" and "don't even try". Most consider this to be nothing more than an auditory illusion, since Smoozelings have shown no signs of possessing any kind of intelligence. *Smoozeling goo can be used by skilled alchemists to create mind-altering poisons that can cause infected creatures to become incredibly rude and aggressive. Inspiration *The Smooze from the G1 "My Little Pony" movie. *The S'muz (based on the above) from the fanfic "Timelords and Terror" by Hephestus. *This post from the "Ask the Nightguards" tumblr. *The Gelatinous Cube and other Ooze-type monsters from Dungeons & Dragons. *the Flood from the Halo series. Category:Creatures Category:Aberrations